About 7 million workers missing from U.S. economy as labor shortage persists

Unemployment numbers are falling in the U.S., with the October jobs report beating expectations, but labor shortages persist. A recent article in "The Atlantic" points out that about 7 million workers have left their jobs despite rising wages and a surging U.S. economy. The author of that piece, Derek Thompson, joins CBSN to discuss the disappearing workforce.

[camadams]

There is no labor shortage.
There is just a shortage of companies willing to pay a living wage

[TheSuperPsychoKiller]

Working minimum wage for customers to abuse you over masks is not worth it.

[LJ_nowandalways]

I don't understand this pseudo philosophic discussion. It's not rocket science: Pay workers a living wage. Give them opportunities to grow personally and professionally.

[radish]

Framing this as a labor shortage is disingenuous. There’s plenty of labor waiting for good jobs. There’s a shortage of jobs that pay a livable wage.

[nobodyknows]

For anyone who hasn't done job search lately, this is how it works. You find a job listing that says "NOW HIRING!!! $18/hr to Start!" and then you apply. You call them during followup and they tell you "That position has been filled, but we do have several positions available at $8.75/hr"

Yeah, that's what I thought....

[mayginwheat]

We aren’t missing. We’re starting Etsy shops, OF & side hustles because if we are gonna struggle to pay bills & have non existent health coverage we are gonna do it running our own business, at our own hours.

[notsure]

I'm quitting because of abusive customers and weak management that does nothing about it. I will not be a punching bag for minimum wage.

[michellewhatshername]

People don't want crap work, with crap people, for crap pay 🤘

[maylani]

I work retail. Our store is having a difficult time finding workers. So, they raised the minimum wage to attract new employees and those of us who have been there, put in the extra work, and continue dealing with entitled customers will now receive what a starting employee will earn and our hours will be cut. Shows you how much the company values its employees’ talents and experience. This is how the company treats their current employees. And, everyone is wondering why people quit or don’t want to go back to work.

[sxulmmd]

It's not a labor shortage, it's a wage shortage.

[themojoverse]

Between a pandemic killing people and the rest of us being tired of getting crumbs while someone else takes the whole cake, this won't end soon

[minuit]

You don't need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce the reason for "job shortages." The reality is people do not want to be corporate slaves anymore. The pandemic was the breaking point on what a person is willing to withstand from their corporate overlords. Pay better and have better benefits and you may convince people to trust you again with their precious time.

[Raul-xeyj]

Nobody wants to waste 40 hours a week doing anything for wages extremely far below the poverty line

[kgindustries]

This is how we force employers to bring back a living wage and benefits…

[jibh]

Nobody can work earning minimum wage with no benefits and making a degree doesn’t guarantee anything anymore nowadays.

[taniaburton]

Everybody now knows "flexible hours" means flexible for the employer.

[MASTEROFEVIL]

Corporations should stop treating entry-level jobs as if they were looking for an executive board member

[sonofatlas]

It’s crazy there’s a labor shortage but you won’t hire felons or veterans but want to complain about labor for people over qualified but making minimum wage 🤦🏾‍♂️

[LuisCabrera-spwj]

Didn't seem like they need people when it takes a whole month to get call backs when i apply

[galerus]

I applied for 50+ entry level jobs in the last 14 days, one interview... You guys don't miss workers you miss slaves.